The Functional City principles steered the development of Latin American cities post WWII, but their influence in current urbanisation in LA has not been acknowledged or studied, due to the presumption by planners that contemporary planning operates within a very different planning paradigm to the earlier modernist one. In contrast, this paper argues that contemporary urban planning practices in Colombia are still dependent today on functionalist urbanism. Through a case study of three of the 28 approved Planes Parciales (sectorial plans) in Medellin, Colombia, based on primary data sources, I argue how the Functional City principles have been overshadowed by and formulated from a socio-economic perspective which creates discrepancies between local planners and academics regarding their application. This study contributes to a better understanding of current urbanisation patterns in Latin America. Furthermore, this study will invite reflection and public debate over questions such as: urbanization for whom/against whom and who decides?

Las ciudades del Sur global han ganado representatividad en las discusiones internacionalesacerca de gobernanza y sostenibilidad. Esto parece apenas lógico considerando que la mayoríade la población mundial habita en ellas. En particular, Medellín ha recibido bastante atencióngracias a una serie de intervenciones urbanas que han sido vinculadas con el mejoramiento de diferentes aspectos de la calidad de vida de sus habitantes. En este artículo discutimos cómo se materializa la gobernanza y cómo toma diferentes formas, de acuerdo con las condiciones y actores específicos en cada caso. Adicionalmente, exploramos el caso de Juan Bobo, un proyecto piloto de consolidación habitacional llevado a cabo en la ciudad de Medellín. A través de este caso buscamos entender cómo la gobernanza toma forma en condiciones de informalidad ycómo se pueden lograr combinaciones funcionales de estilos de gobernanza para solucionar algunos de los problemas que aquejan a los barrios autoconstruidos de la ciudad.

El potencial de transformación comunitaria que tiene la participación juvenil se reconoce cada vez más en el ámbito político-práctico-académico. El artículo analiza el aprendizaje metodológico de nuestro proyecto digital participativo basado en la música y las artes con jóvenes afrocolombianos e indígenas en Quibdó-Colombia, una zona afectada por el conflicto, la violencia y la marginación sistémica. Presentando la metodología digital coproducida, reflexionamos sobre los desafíos y oportunidades que surgen al involucrar jóvenes en geografías marginadas a través de formas creativas y digitales de participación. Cuando el COVID-19 ha destacado los desafíos de la exclusión digital a nivel mundial, nuestros hallazgos aportan consideraciones prácticas para planificar proyectos digitales inclusivos con jóvenes en marginalidad, resaltando la necesidad de la contextualización relevante en los enfoques metodológicos y pedagógicos, y la aproximación transdisciplinar de los equipos pedagógicos para aprovechar el potencial de la música y las artes en el fomento de la participación juvenil.

This paper discusses how marginal cities surrounded by rich hinterlands in geographies of conflict display city-building processes that transform them into emergent geographies of spatial accumulation. Embracing recent debates on geographies of accumulation in the global South, this paper reveals three interrelated strategies that shape capitalist urbanisation in marginal cities of conflict. The empirical findings of a case study in the Colombian Pacific region indicate that: 1) extractive economies supported by national neoliberal policies nurture weak governance, as reflected in city-building processes that increase sociospatial segregation; 2) the circulation of illegal capital within status quo spatial politics seems to result in rapid urban transformations via land use changes; and 3) spatial accumulation in marginal urban settlements conceals processes of systematic social injustice through euphemisms of economic development. This paper contributes to new conceptualisations derived from an analysis of spatial transformations in marginal(ised) cities under geopolitical economies of violence.

PurposeFieldwork in architectural conservation education is a proven practice to develop skills in documenting current conditions and start methodological engagements with a site's architectural and historical values. It is a vehicle to generate intensive learning experiences in comprehensive degrees or short courses. Review of the practice within conservation education is not extensive and the purpose of this paper is to reflect on enhancing pedagogy further.Design/methodology/approachThis reflection was triggered by a major case study, a workshop to generate UG teaching capacity for an Architecture school in Colombia. This led to mapping the fieldwork spectrum, reviewing the authors' experiences (PG courses and external workshops) and activities planned in other MSc programmes. Fieldwork is often seen as skills training, so enhancement is explored through the affiliate geography and architecture UG curricula.FindingsThe Colombia workshop provoked strong engagement among students and tutors, and their commitment to make heritage meaningful to their projects is a measure of this pedagogy's success. Fieldwork around a site's essence, beyond skills development can induce conservation students into critical enquiries by motivating them to develop personalised contexts and enhance engagement with the unexpected through inversion of linear learning processes. Setting up site exercises early on PG programmes can encourage curiosity in exploring historic environments and contextualise surveying methods.Research limitations/implicationsStudent reaction to these ideas has still to be tested by designing new activities. The educational methods of this implementation need deeper analysis, beyond the paper's scope.Originality/valueThe paper maps the academic value of fieldwork in conservation education, investigating enhancement and cross-fertilisation from architecture and geography.